On Feb. 27, USC women’s tennis took a decisive 6-1 loss to crosstown rival UCLA, falling to 7-4 overall and 1-4 against ranked competition. Though the match didn’t count toward the Trojans’ official conference record, it nevertheless appeared to forebode that their second season in the Big Ten would be far from smooth sailing.

In reality, USC’s conference schedule went about as smoothly as it could have. 

Aside from a narrow 4-3 loss to No. 18 Michigan (16-6, 12-1 Big Ten), the No. 12 Trojans (19-5, 12-1) were unstoppable throughout their sophomore Big Ten campaign, compiling a near-perfect 12-1 record that included five 4-0 sweeps and another six 4-1 decisions.

That season-long dominance was no different over the weekend, when USC capped off its regular season with sweeps of Purdue (7-14, 3-10) and Indiana (14-11, 4-9) to clinch a share of its first-ever Big Ten regular season title. The Trojans also finished with a perfect 10-0 record at home, marking their first undefeated slate at Marks Stadium in 11 years.

“I’m so proud of these women and what they’ve done to get here. … They deserve it,” Head Coach Alison Swain said in a postgame interview with USC Athletics on Sunday. “I don’t get emotional on the court a lot, but I definitely felt the emotions of it.”

USC tied for first in the conference with Michigan and No. 5 Ohio State (21-3, 12-1) after all three finished with just one loss in Big Ten play. The Trojans will get a chance to stake their claim as the conference’s true champions later this week at the Big Ten Tournament, where they will compete as the No. 2 seed.

Boilermakers no match for Trojans

Friday’s matchup with Purdue started with a significant shakeup in the doubles lineup, featuring three pairings that haven’t been seen much this season — or ever, in the case of senior Emma Charney and sophomore Simone Kay. Despite being paired for the first time, Charney and Kay had no trouble dispatching Boilermaker graduate student Kayal Gownder and senior Fatima Gutierrez with a 6-0 shutout.

Though sophomore Jana Hossam and freshman Eugenia Zozaya struggled in their match, winning just one point in a lopsided loss, freshmen Krisha Mahendran and Dani Borruel powered through Purdue’s No. 65-ranked duo of sophomores Ece Gencer and Ida Clement, taking a 6-3 victory to clinch the doubles point.

From there, USC was off to the races in singles, with each Trojan winning the first set of their respective matches. No. 23 Hossam and No. 67 Charney both put up double breadsticks against Gencer and Gutierrez, respectively, giving USC a commanding 3-0 lead.

The final point of the afternoon belonged to Borruel, who downed Purdue sophomore Kathryn Wilson 6-1, 6-2 to secure a 4-0 victory for the Trojans in their first-ever meeting with the Boilermakers.

Charney propels Senior Day win

USC was hungry for a win against Indiana on Sunday for a number of reasons: Not only would the match determine whether the Trojans won their first Big Ten title, but it was also Charney’s Senior Day celebration, who has been with the team since 2022.

That celebration got off to a fast start in doubles, where Charney teamed up with junior Immi Haddad for a 6-2 win over Hoosier junior Elisabeth Dunac and sophomore Nicole Sifuentes. The duo earned their ninth consecutive victory — a run dating back to the start of conference play.

However, USC’s work was far from done, as the No. 29 pair of junior Lily Fairclough and Mahendran took a shocking 6-3 loss to Indiana’s No. 54 freshman pair of Alessandra Teodosescu and Hiʻilani Williams. All eyes turned to Borruel and Zozaya on court three, where they managed to escape in a 7-5 nailbiter.

With the drama of doubles out of the way, the singles round was a much calmer affair for the Trojans. Zozaya earned her 30th individual win of the season, beating fellow freshman Ameia Sorey 6-3, 6-2, and Mahendran promptly followed suit with an efficient 6-2, 6-1 takedown of Williams.

In the end, it was none other than Charney who clinched the win for USC, battling Teodosescu for a 6-1, 6-4 victory. The match marked Charney’s 10th consecutive victory in singles, finishing off an undefeated conference slate in her final collegiate season. Sunday was also the Trojans’ seventh win in a row, tying their longest streak since April 2022.

“It made the perfect end to the perfect day of Senior Day,” Charney said of her title-clinching victory in a postgame interview with USC Athletics. “It’s been the best four years, and I’m so grateful, and I want to embrace every match I have left with these girls by my side.”

With a stellar regular season complete, USC will turn its attention to the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. A tournament championship would guarantee the Trojans a spot in the NCAA Championship in May, but they will almost assuredly earn one of the 34 at-large bids regardless.

“Be arrogant. In a good way, but be arrogant,” Charney said of the team’s postseason mentality. “We earned this. We’ve only lost one conference match, so our goal … is to show people that and be proud of it.”

After enjoying a first-round bye, USC will play either Maryland (16-6, 8-5) or Northwestern (14-11, 6-7) on Friday at 11 a.m. The Trojans beat the Wildcats 4-1 on April 10 and have not played the Terrapins this season.